Wednesday, November 8, 2017

A beautiful weekend in Stuart for the spectators at the Annual Air Show
at Witham Field. The partly cloudy skies provided just the right backdrop for
the spectacular display of aerial prowess by daring pilots in modern as well as
vintage aircraft. There was a full scale WWII battle reenactment including a
parachute drop. Demonstrations by the Air Force F16 Viper, the Navy F18 Super Hornet
as well as a variety of other daring aerobatic demonstrations, including the
Navy Seals Leap Frog parachute jump with the American flag, and my favorite
the AeroShell Aerobic team. I was using my new FujiFilm XT2 with a 55-200mm lens this year and it was
a learning experience, but I did get some good shots.

Sunday, October 22, 2017

The Indiantown Rodeo, now in its 70th year, is
sponsored by the Martin County Sheriff's Office and professionally
produced by the 4L Rodeo Company. With generous sponsors and countless
volunteer hours, the Timer Power Park event brings real cowboys to compete in
Bull Riding, Bronco Riding, Steer Wrestling, and Barrel Racing, to name a few -
great fun and an out-of-the-ordinary spectacle.

Sunday, October 8, 2017

Again this year,
photographers from around the world gather in various locations on the same day
to explore, photograph, share photos with each another, make new friends, and
be a part of a great cause. This year was the 10th Annual World Wide Photo Walk,
which supports The Springs Of Hope Kenya Orphanage that feeds, houses, educates
and empowers young orphans so that they can grow up to not just survive but
succeed in life.

Friday, March 10, 2017

A great year
to get out and photograph in Stuart, Florida. Some of the photography
opportunities this past year included a Scott Kelby photo walk, lots of downtown
activities, including Dancing in the Street, the Riverwalk Concerts and of
course my favorites the Stuart Air Show and the Stuart Sailfish Regatta. Even had a few paid gig's, sold some prints and of course always learning and
growing in my photography skills.

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

After years
of photographing with DSLR's, I have taken the leap to mirrorless! Early on, I had used point and shoot film
cameras for family or friends-type snapshots, eventually moving on to digital
point-and-shoots. After retiring in 2002, I bought my first bridge camera. It
was a Panasonic Lumix FZ40, a nice compact 14mp - 24x zoom camera. While
getting more serious about photography and getting out of "auto"
mode, this was a great little versatile camera to start learning photography.

It wasn't
too much longer when, in 2013, I jumped up to a full size DSLR. The Nikon
D5200, a 24mp APS-C (crop) sensor with interchangeable lens was a big step up
in my photography use and experience. Before long I had acquired several more
lenses for the Nikon. It's a great
camera for all kinds of photography - portraits, sports, landscapes - but it is
bulky and heavy.

Because of
desire for a smaller, lighter camera, I had been watching rapid development in
the mirrorless field in recent years, with Sony, Fujifilm, Olympus and others
making huge advancements in technology. After much research I zeroed in on the
flagship Fuji X-T2. For me, besides reduced size and weight, the big features
were the 24mp APS-C sensor, the retro manual dials, amazing EVF, fast focus,
image quality, and available lenses. On
paper the Fuji, in a smaller form factor, actually outstrips my Nikon in every
function and feature.

Because of
high demand, it took months for my normal preorder to get filled, but once in
my hands, the sophisticated tactical feel of the body and knobs was an awesome
experience. Not having to fiddle in menus while having exposure settings all
readily handy right on top of the camera is just astounding! There is something
very comforting about the mechanical feel of this camera - you feel that you
are part of the photography process. It is just plain fun to use! The image quality is outstanding, and even
while still learning to use the camera. It's unadjusted jpeg quality seems
virtually to equal the Lr adjusted RAW files.

I have a lot
to learn and explore with this system, but one thing I know. Spending time with
this mirrorless camera will be an exciting adventure.